I have no issues with him falling in love with the mid range jumper. He probably has as good a shot from that range as any big in the league. He just looks so awkward when he gets down low. He has really poor foot work and poor awareness. And then there's the defense...

I have no issues with him falling in love with the mid range jumper. He probably has as good a shot from that range as any big in the league. He just looks so awkward when he gets down low. He has really poor foot work and poor awareness. And then there's the defense...

You have no problem with a big incapable of putting his back to the basket and scoring? Its one thing if he could do this and well + had a midrange jumper. Its another where he simply doesnt even go to the block. He's not even a sniper from out there. Atleast you have guys who can shoot their ass off. He cant even do that. Hit or miss.

I'm not feeling big men who have no low post game whatsoever. Even Rasheed Wallace had that.

Then defense, rebounding and basic passing? He blows. But these were things that were red flags when he was drafted. His bball IQ and work ethic were questioned. He has a ways to go before he can be a starter in this league (in the legit sense that is).

You have no problem with a big incapable of putting his back to the basket and scoring? Its one thing if he could do this and well + had a midrange jumper. Its another where he simply doesnt even go to the block. He's not even a sniper from out there. Atleast you have guys who can shoot their ass off. He cant even do that. Hit or miss.

I'm not feeling big men who have no low post game whatsoever. Even Rasheed Wallace had that.

Then defense, rebounding and basic passing? He blows. But these were things that were red flags when he was drafted. His bball IQ and work ethic were questioned. He has a ways to go before he can be a starter in this league (in the legit sense that is).

I don't have a problem with it once I've come to accept the fact he's not a starter in the league. Nobody wants a player that's one dimensional at any position but eventually it is what it is. He's gone to that Pete Newell Big Man's Camp in the summer and it hasn't helped. I've seen him attempt to work moves in the post and either get his feet tangled up and travel or just fall over.

And I completely disagree about him being hit or miss on his jumpers. From that 17-20 foot range he is money. It's one of the reasons he shoots around 50% despite never being around the bucket. There's a stats site that I saw beginning of the season that actually showed how much higher he shot from 12-20 feet compared to within 12 feet, but I can't remember it off the top of my head.

The sad reality is that he's running out of time. When he has a game like he had tonight you see what he's capable of. Midrange jumpers, very active on the boards, taking charges etc. There are guys who have had the same problem as Speights and realized hey, I need to become a specialist in something or else my ass is out of the league. An example is Channing Frye who turned himself into a 3point sniper. He doesn't block shots, doesn't put his back to the basket, doesn't do a lot of things that you would like...but he's mastered something in his game that will keep him in the league.

That "raw potential" tag is coming off of Speights as he gets older and he likely doesn't have the work ethic to master a craft like that though.